In Igbo land, chieftaincy title names are picked after deep introspection. Before the later day bastardisation of the process, names conferred on highly select and deserving individuals reflect the roles they have consistently played in the society.
The Enyi 1 of Aba, HRH Eze I. A. Ikonne has just conferred the chieftaincy title of “Onyentukwasi Obi 1 of Aba” on Senate President Ahmed Lawan for his “highly exemplary leadership qualities and meritorious service to Nigeria.”
Onyentukwasiobi loosely translates to “dependable one” or “someone in whom we put our trust.”
So “Onyentukwasiobi 1 of Aba” means someone in whom all the people of Aba put their trust.
There is a near consensus among the young people of the south-east that the 9th Senate led by Ahmed Lawan has not acquitted itself creditably.
In extreme cases, they describe Lawan’s Senate as a rubber stamp Senate that has failed to deploy the full levers of their office to checkmate the Executive arm of the Federal Government that has continued to terribly mismanage Nigeria’s diversity, economy and security.
If this is exactly what young south-easterners feel about the 9th Senate and its leadership, and His Royal Highness and his cabinet chose to put the trust of entire people of Aba on Ahmed Lawan, it now begins to make sense why our younger generation look on these once revered traditional institutions with great contempt.
Chima Christian
